Fire hydrant



' June 1s, 1929. H, M, um@ 1.717.392

FIRE HYDRANT Filed June'18. 1926` l 2 SheetsSheet rl June 1s, 1929.v H,MLTN l 1.717.392-

FIRE HYDRANT Filed June 18, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l. j 14e UM i ll!)diffe/"nef i 2Q balancing j Paarse. June l1e, 1929. n

UNIT-en,.sTATEs.

HERBERT mvLorToN, orcHTTANooGA, TENNESSEE.

irma HYDBANT. j

1 Y Application 'med :eine 1s,

r v Themain object of my invention is to so Construct a fire hydrantthat the main valve visto alarge extent counter-balanced inits j openingand preferably in its closing move- 5, ments in respect tothe pressureof the water fromA the lstreety main.` Wherejno means is provided for-cou-nterbalancing the water pressure, a great dealof-force is requiredto A depress or open the valve, and`th1s- 1s par- 10 ticularly sodwhere.very high pressures are whereby .the usual fibrouspackin may be' 25omitted and a special cupped leat er packing employed. v

With the above and other objects in view,

- n the nature of which will be ,more fully understood from thedescription hereinafter, the invention consists in the novel'construcv jtion of fire hydrant, as hereinafter more fully described and defined inthe claims.

Referring to the'drawings: Fig. 1 'is `a vertical section through thelower part of the l hydrant, and more particularly illustrating themain' valve together with the counterbalancing and drainage features; Fi2 is va cross-section taken on line 2 2 of ig. 1; Fig. Sis a. verticalsection of the upper part .4,0 of the hydrant and showing,vmore'particu- 1 `larly, the means 'for operating the valve; Fig. 4,. isa cross section taken on line 4-4 ofFig. -1; and Fig. 5 isa crosssectiontaken onl line 5-5 of F1g.,3.'

' 2 represents'the shoe or elbow shaped base of the hydrant havingthe-inlet''for connecting with `the water main and carrying atits'upperpart a valve seat 4. Bolted to the upper portion of the s hoe isthe'barrel or stock 5 which extends upwardly above the street level andis provided'with the; nozzle opening 6. 7 is the main valve formed.,with the conical seating portion 8 which seats upon .the conical seat 9of'theannular bushing 4 constituting the valve seat ring.; The conicalseating portion 8is clamped between the 1926. Serial No. 116,851. l

upper collar 10 and the lowerV collar 11 of the valve piece, said partsbeing clamped together through the medium `of the valve stem 12 andtubular stem 13 which are lunited. by the screw threaded portion 13a andthe nuts 14.' The upper head 10 is provided with g the vupwardlyextending guide wings 15 which fit into grooves 16 in the upper portionof the valve seatI ring 4, whereby` the valve 7 and ,the lvalve stem 12are held against rotation while, r atl the same time, free toreciprocate vertically. v l

. Ordinarily, seat rings for firehydrants are provided Withpmetalgaskets for insuring a tight joint between the ring and the shoe, but

1n my improvement herein, gaskets are dis'-` I pensed with. In thepresent construction,

the perimeter ofthe seat ringhas its upper vportion cylindrical andscrew threaded, as at 17, whereas its lower portion is made conical asat 18, and preferably with a plurality of annular grooves 19 to increasethe tight. i

ness ofthe joint. vThe uppergpart of the opening in theshoe'is formed1with an internal cylindrical screw thread 20 into which the' screwthread 17 of the seat -ring is r screwed, and the lower part-ofitsopening is made coni-cal as at 21 so as to receive and act as a seat forthe conical portion 18 of the seat ring, all of which is clearly shownin Fig. 1. It will be underst'ood that when the seat ring is screwedldown its conical portion 18 tightly seats upon the conical portion 21 ofthe shoe, Aand invthat manner makes avery strong and tight joint, and bymaking lthe conical angle relatively small,

the seat ring will be held rmly tothe 'shoe and resistant to rotationwhen the stern is being acted upon bythe operating bushing at the top ofthe hydrant.

. Referring now to the balancing feat-ure whereby the large main valve 7may be opened downwardly lagainst th'e great pressure of the water inthe street mains, the following construction is employed.. 22 is atubular barrel which is fitted into an upper cylindrical'flan-ge 23 anda lower cylindrical iiange 24 of the shoe in which -it is secured by eX-panding the upper and lower edges, as at 25.

Surround/ing the'cylinder 22 and between the" upper flange-23 and lowerflange 24 is' an annular space 26 which has'outletsv :27 downwardlythroughl the bottom of the shoe. 28 are drainage apertures throughthectubular cylinder 22 about ymidway of its length and opening into thedrainage passage. `26. 29

is a balancing' piston and comprises a down'- wardly extending tubularportion 30 flanged at 31 and forming a continuation of the tubuluar.stem 13 of the main valve. Sleeved upon the tubular stem. 3() is thecentral piston portion 32, the two cupped leather packings 33 and 34 anda clamping collar 35, all held y between the flange 31 and the nuts 36screwed upon the lower portion of the tubular stem 30. f The balancingpiston 29 may be made in any other suitable manner, but since it is tooperate in connection with water, the construction shown has been foundwell suited to the purpose. It will be seen that this 'pist0n issubjected to the pressure of the water upon itsupper side while itslower side is subjected only to the atmospheric pressure which exertsits influence through the drainage passages 26, 27 and 28, into theinterior lower part of the cylinder 22. As the area of the balancingpiston 29 approximates,

f though preferably 1s somewhat less than the area of the opening of themain valve seat, it is manifest that thehydraulic pressure of the waterwill' be somewhat greater upon the main valve than upon the balancingpiston, and this is desirable to insure some seating pressure; but thevdierence in area may be made as small as possible, so that the extentof the balancing of the main valve may be` carried out to as great anextent as possible consistent with good operation of the device.

For the purpose of draining the hydrant barrel or stock 5 when -the mainvalve is closed, I. provide a drainage port 37 through the valveoperating stem 12 whereby it provides at-the top a communication withthe interior of the barrel or stock 5 above the main valve, and atitsbottom a communication with the interior of the tubular stem 30 whichopens downward into the cylinder 22 below the balancing valve 29. Asshown in Fig. 1, the water which might bein the barrel 5 when the valveis just closed 4would drain through the passage 37, thence through thetubular stem 30 into the cylinder 22, and thence through the apertures28, 26 and 27 to the ground outside of the hydrant. It will also be seenthat when thepistonis descending together with the main valve in the actof opening the latter, the lower cupped leather portion 34 of the pistonwill close the drainage ports 28 so that the pressure of the waterexerted above thejmain valve will not be able to forcefthe water throughthe drain-y` age ports 26, 27 and 28, but instead will exert a pressurecommensurate with the pressure of the street main upon the underside' ofthe balancing piston 29 as well as upon its upper side, and with theresult that after the initial opening of the valve assisted by the waterpressure upon the upper side of the Vbalancing piston 29, the balancingrequirement will no longer be necessary and, therefore, the balancingpiston is in effect but out of action and merely moves with the mainvalve as a controlling means for the drainage.' On account of the largemovement of the main valve,'the counter-balancing piston must have avertical height which will maintain the drainage ports 28 closedthroughout `the main opening and closing movements of the'm'ain valve,being operative for controlling the drainage port with the first initial'movement given to the valve stem and valve piece in opening the valve,and the nal movement of said parts when closing the valve. While thecylinder 22 is shown as made of a piece of tubing expanded in tightposition within the flanges 24 and-33 of the shoe, thesaid cylindricalportion may be integral with the shoe structure itself. However, it isadvantageous to' employ the construction as shown, because the tubingconstituting the cylinder may be of brass, bronze or other non-rustingmetal.

Referring tothe means for impar-ting reciprocation to the valve stem 12and as shown in Figs. 3 and 5 39 is the operating stem nut internallyscrew threaded andrcooperating with the threaded portion 40. of thevalve stem 12. The stem nut '39 is provided with an annular flange 41and an externally arranged usual polygonal shapel head 43 for theapplication of a wrench to rotate the nut.` 42 is a hold-down nut whichis ,screwed into the top of the bonnet 38 and provides an annularbearing for the .flange of the stem nut. vBelow theflange 4l, there isarranged a cupped leather packing, the radial portion 45 of which isclamped down upon the annular shoulder 46 of the bonnet by thescrewbushing 44 and upon which the flange 41 of the stem nut rests,while the cylindrical portion 48 of the cupped leather snugly fits theouter circumference of the stem nut and is normally spring pressedagainst thel same by the circular spring formed ofspringsheet metal at47.. In' this manner,- the vertical thrust, whether upward or downward,due to the rotationof the stem sleeve is taken up by the metal portions42 and 44, whereas the packing is securelyclamped. in position and isyieldingly pressedagainst lthe circumference of the sleeve, the latterbeing tirned to a true cylinder. The clamping spring 47 holds the cuppedleather at all times snugly against the stem nut, even when there is nopressure within the hydrant stock or barrel,

sure was controlled or where. the main valve.

-' was relatively small, a threaded connection with the operating stemnut was usually made with 'six t reads tothe inch, whereas by myimprovement, I am enabled to use a greater pitch amounting to threethreads to the inch', thusdoubling the-speed of opening and closing thehydrant and operatinga greater pressure and moving a-larger valve piecewith?v out the application of any greater power.

While I have provided draining means whereby the stock or barrel of thehydrant may bel drained through the valve stem and thence through the.balancing cylinder 22, I

fdo not restrict myself in this respect, as the draining of the barrelor stock may be accomplished in any other suitable manner such Y asheretofore practiced, though I prefer the construction shown.

. amount of resistance to opening of the valve would be proportional, tothe difference in areas, and consequently as this difference in area isrelatlvely small compared to the full area of the main valve,.arelatively smaller power exerted on the stein nut 39 is alone necessaryto insure the opening of the main Valve. As soon as this opening ofthemain valve takes place, the drainage ports 28 are closed and waterunder pressure passes through the drainage port.37 and into the lowerpart of theA cylinder 22, so that it exerts an upward pressure on theunderside of the balancing piston 29 equal to or approximately equal tothe downward pressure upon the upper side of the piston, and thereafter,the main valve ismoved up or down freely since the pressure is equalizedupon its upper and lower portion, .just as the pressure is equalizedupon the upper and lower portions of the balancing piston. 29.Iteversely, in closing the maln valve, the' stem nut is rotated inaright hand directionand this lifts the valve `stem and valve piece aswell as the balancing piston without material resistance and just beforethe main valve seats the drainage ports 28 open to relieve the pressureunder the balancing piston and thereupon the differential action of thebalancing piston 'and main valve once more becomes edective vso that themain valve closes gently and without jar, nomatter how greatly the waterpressure in the main may be. Thereafter, the stock or barrel drainsautomatically through the ports 37, cylinder- 22,'1ports 28, 26 and 2.7to the groundoutside .of the hydrant, and, at the same time, maintainingthe cylinder 22 below the piston alent is:

most full of water and in 'condition to' bev quickly responsive iup'onagain 'j opening ,the l valve. ,n v It will now be apparent thathavede'- vised a novel and useful construction which embodies the featuresof advantage enumeratedfas desirable, and while I have in the presentinstance shown and` l described the preferred embodiment thereoffwhichhas been found in practice to give satisfactory andl reliable results,itis to be understood that I do not restrictmyself to the details, as thesame are susceptible' of modification in various particulars without.departing from the spirit or scope of theinvention Having now describedmy invention, what I claim and desire to .secure-by. Letters Pat-v 1. Ina valve device of tlre characterstated, a valve piece and an operating'steinffor recontrolling a fluid under pressure, combined v'with an inletchamber in which the valve piece ciprocating it toward and'from a seat'forl is moved in opening the valve, and means for largely.counter-balancing the pressure ofthe fluid upon the valve pieceagainstopeningwhich comprises a cylinderin alinement with vthe-valve piece andstern and opening into the chamber and of an internal diameterapproaching the diametercfthe valveseat open.- ing, a piston movableinthe cylinder so as to be affected by the luid'pressureofthe fluid bothwithin the cylinder and chamber when the valve is opened, .said pistonconnected to and movable with the valve lpiece and the interior of saidc linder below thepistonhav-v ling communicatlon with the space abovethe valve piece when the valvepiece is open and with the atmosphere'prior to fand during lthe initial opening movement yon'ly: of: theVvalve piece in opening. l

2. In a valve device of .thecharac'ter stated, a valve piece and anoperating stern for reciprocating it towardandfrom' a seat for'controlling va fluid under pressure, combined `Iwith an inlet chamber inwhich the valve piece is moved in opening the-valve, and means forlargely counter-balancing the pressure of the fluid upon' the valvepiece to ,reduce its t resistance .to opening, ccmp.risinga cylinder inalinement with the valve piece and stem' and opening into theyinlet-chamber, anda piston'movable in the cylinder soas to be affected-by the pressure ofthe fiuid within the f inlet chamber, said' pistonconnected to and movable-with the' valve piece, and whereinfurther, acommunicatingvdrainage passagevv 'is provided from the deliver side ofthe valve piece to the interior o l the cylinder below' the piston,whereby fluid on the de.

livery sideofv the valve piece Amay ,drain through the cylinderprior-tothe initial openingmov'ement of the valvepiece the cylinderbeing Vprovided with a drainage outlet through its side lwallimmediately, beneath the piston therein when raised to itshighestposition, Whereb said drainage .aperture is sealed by the piston whenlowered within the cylinder.'v f

3. The invention' according'v to claim l,V

wherein further, .the piston operates as a drainagevalve'forlcontrolling the escape of Water from the valve device throughthe means of communication from the interior 'of the cylinder to theatmosphere, 'said piston having a depth or'thickness in sliding Contactwith the interior ofthe cylinder which is greater than the total travelof the valve piece l in fully opening or closingv the valvedevice.

4. The invention .according to claim 1, wherein further, thecommunication between vthe interior of the cylinder and the atmospherecomprises a port through the wall of the cylinder close to the pistonwhen the'valve per portion provided with an annular radial seat, aleather c surrounding the stem nut andhaving a ra ial flange restingupon the annular radial scat, a clamping bushingy screwed into therecess in the bonnet and tightly clamping the radial flanged portion ofthe leather cup, said bushing acting also as a bearing for the annularflange of the stem, and a retaininl nut screwedrinto the upper portionof the onnet and providing an annular under bearing surface for theupper side othe annular flange of the stem nut.

6. .The invention according to claim 5, in which further, thecylindrical portion of the leather cup is arranged in a recess ofconsiderable greater-diameter, and a'split clamping ring surrounds theleather and clamps it to the cylindrical outer surface of the stem nut.v l

7. In a device of the character stated, a reciprocating valve piece, andstem, a rotating stem nut foroperating said parts, means for supportingthe stem nut against longitudinal movement while permitting rotarymovement, and a water tight packing about the stem nut comprising acupped leather packing `having a cylindrical portion tting thecuppedleather for yieldinglyclamping it to the cylindrical surface ofthe stem nut.

8. In a valve device of the character stated, a valve piece and anoperating stem for reciprocat-ing-it toward and from a seat' for con-vtightly about the stem nut and an annular 'trolling a Huid underpressure, combinedwith f an inlet chamber in which the valvepiece ismoved 'in opening the valve and means for largely counterbalancing thepressureof the uid upon the valve piece to reduce its -resistance toopening, comprising a. cylinder in alinement`with the valve piece andstem and opening into the inlet chamber, a piston. mov-l able in thecylinder so as to beafected by the pressure of the fluid within theinletchamber, said `-piston connected to and movable with the valve piece,means for providing at all times'a communication between the space onthedelivery side of the va'lvepiece and the cylinder space below thecounter-balancing piston, and means for draining the; valve device whenthe valve piece is closed` upon its 1 seat.

lng concentric withthe axis of the valve piece and thestem andcomprising upperand lower annular portions separated-bya drainage space,and wherein the cylinder isormed 9. The invention according to claim 1,

of a piece of tubular metal snugly fitting the annular portions of thecylindrical openmg so as to bridge over the drainage space an held inplace by being outwardly flanged or upset in relation to one of theannular portions and providing a curved rim to insure easy entrance ofthe piston vand 'at the same ltime hold the tubular cylinder 4againstlon-v gitudinal movement when the valve vis being opened or closed, saidcylinderprovided with drainage openings extending through the wallthereof into the drainage space.

In testimony of which invention,

I hereunto set my hand.

HERBERT M; LoF'roN.

